It's that time of year again! This week, I received a bunch of emails about melleri for sale in mom & pop pet shops, trade shows, and online. I hope to answer some questions with this post before more hit my inbox:

1. No, I do not have any melleri for sale. I do not sell my CBs to vendors for resale. Anyone selling at shows or online who claims their fresh baby melleri were bred by me is not to be trusted.

2. I don't take reservations for animals, I don't have any eggs incubating right now, and I thoroughly screen interested parties. Everyone here will know if and when I have CB for sale again.

3. No matter where you want to buy an animal, check their references. ( I advise the same to people buying art.) Pet stores, private breeders, dealers, and importers are often reported on the Board of Inquiry at FaunaClassifieds, and in some cases, the Better Business Bureau. To access the BOI, just join FaunaClassifieds (it's free), and after you log in, the hundreds of threads will appear. Plug the name of the seller/company into the search function and you'll be able to read other customers' firsthand experiences. There is also a
Canadian BOI forum. I'm not sure if we are allowed to link to other forums here, but FaunaClassifieds is easy to find via online search.

Other chameleon forums (like this one) have individual threads about pet stores, shows, and online dealers. A Google search can be very helpful. When you do decide on a source, don't be afraid to ask questions.

Good luck,

__________________
Kristina Francis
http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

"The human mind treats a new idea the same way the
body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."
- Peter B. Medawar
Nobel Prize-winning immunologist

This season's reports have been topped. People will tell you anything to make a buck!

"one guy told me they lay eggs under the leaves on the tree."

This was one of the gems a seller told his unsuspecting buyer this month.

Please check sellers' references and ask experienced keepers before purchasing any chameleon.

Even worse (or is it better?), doing some reading before a purchase isn't even safe. The Ultimate Guide to Snakes & Reptiles (2007: pp. 197-8) tells us that melleri are live-bearing. Gosh. I'd better go tell my melleri, especially the ones I watched hatch from eggs.

__________________
Kristina Francis
http://www.melleridiscovery.com/

"The human mind treats a new idea the same way the
body treats a strange protein; it rejects it."
- Peter B. Medawar
Nobel Prize-winning immunologist

For all the people involved with these species
we're all on the cutting edge in many ways

complete misinformation and myth
are going to greet us wherever we go.

__________________
"In Target earlier today I learned there is really no good way to answer a 5-year-old asking you why you are looking at his mother's butt so much..."

Good lord . People never fail to amaze me.